


outshine the morning sun

by Ellieb3an, Slumber



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Canon Compliant, Fluff, Haikyuu!! Manga Spoilers, Hinata Shouyou is Sunshine, M/M, Miya Atsumu is a disaster, Post-Time Skip, Romantic Comedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-04-07
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:34:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23522386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellieb3an/pseuds/Ellieb3an, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slumber/pseuds/Slumber
Summary: The onigiri are for charity, in partnership with Onigiri Miya's fundraising efforts for the local food bank. The idea is simple enough in theory— special onigiri inspired by members of the Black Jackals will be on sale through the week, with proceeds donated by week's end— but on top of that, the Black Jackals have also been roped into making a set of their own onigiri to sell for auction. It's a mix of charity and publicity. Many meetings were had. Social posts were planned in advance.Atsumu listens only barely, honing in on the important parts when Osamu explains what he has to do:"But, like, we can make ours together, then? Just me and Shouyou-kun? Oh, shut up. I mean. Well. Can we?"Atsumu and Hinata make onigiri. Atsumu barely survives.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Miya Atsumu
Comments: 51
Kudos: 567





	outshine the morning sun

**Author's Note:**

> Written in collaboration with Ellieb3an, who drew the CUTEST art to go along with this!

Contrary to ~~Osamu's~~ ~~popular~~ Osamu's opinion, Atsumu _does_ use his brain to think through problems. He does. For example, he volunteers to help Shouyou-kun make onigiri with the thought he'd show up with the onigiri mold and a packet of ready-to-fold nori wrappers, because with those tools at their disposal, how hard can it truly be for two inexperienced onigiri makers?

The problem, he begins to realize, as Shouyou-kun eyes his lavender mold and 10-pack wrappers with a scrunched up, thoughtful look, glancing up at him with a soft, "Oh, I thought we'd make them from scratch," that is rimmed with only a little bit of disappointment, relatively-speaking, but already too much disappointment when it comes to Shouyou-kun— 

The problem is that Atsumu does not think very far ahead, and when he doesn't, he ends up saying things like:

"Oh, no, that's fine, Shouyou-kun, I just thought if you'd like you can use this, but if not, we'll make it from scratch too!" 

It brings the smile back to Shouyou-kun's face, though, brilliant and bright, and all is well again.

* * *

The onigiri are for charity, in partnership with Onigiri Miya's fundraising efforts for the local food bank. The idea is simple enough in theory— special onigiri inspired by members of the Black Jackals will be on sale through the week, with proceeds donated by week's end— but on top of that, the Black Jackals have also been roped into making a set of their own onigiri to sell for auction. It's a mix of charity and publicity. Many meetings were had. Social posts were planned in advance. 

Atsumu listens only barely, honing in on the important parts when Osamu explains what he has to do:

"But, like, we can make ours together, then? Just me and Shouyou-kun? Oh, shut up. I mean. Well. Can we?"

"I'm supposed to help you make it—"

Atsumu waves an impatient hand away. "It's onigiri. How hard can it be?"

* * *

Rice, nori, fillings. 

Standing before them now, without a real idea of what next to do, Atsumu finds his answer.

Somewhere, maybe in the Onigiri Miya kitchen, Osamu is laughing. How dare he. It is purely by virtue of being fueled with spite that Atsumu doesn't immediately break down and call him for help. 

Besides, Shouyou-kun seems to remember a little bit more about onigiri-making than he'd initially let on, so Atsumu's happy to let him take the lead, and watch his full-concentration face scrunch up in cute little expressions while he does. "So, your tuna's not going to need any more preparation, but I've never poached an egg before—"

"Me neither," Atsumu admits. "It's not usually something we'd put in onigiri. To YouTube?"

They pull up Atsumu's phone and scour the internet for some instruction. The key to Shouyou-kun's onigiri is that it is supposed to be a burst of sunshine, hence, the runny yolk, but poached eggs are a delicate ingredient. There is boiling water involved, a trick with stirring it, scooping it all careful-like with a ladle. Dimly, Atsumu remembers the instructions Osamu'd given him for handling the eggs, but resists texting him. 

They go through half a dozen eggs before they produce a halfway decent poached one. 

"Wanna scramble the rest, I make a mean omurice," Atsumu asks, withholding the part about how that's because omurice is the only thing he's consistently been able to cook without issue.

"That's a good idea!" Shouyou-kun says, peering into their rice to check on it. "I think we can try this one now, huh?"

Atsumu sets the ruined eggs aside briefly, takes the spot next to Shouyou-kun. "Right, yeah, here we go. Let's do our best!" Atsumu cheers him on, pumping his fist in the air.

"Yeah!" Shouyou-kun says, mirroring the fist pump.

The yolk breaks in his palm, dripping yellow down his arm.

They glance at each other.

"I'll bring out the rest of the eggs," Atsumu says.

* * *

They get marginally better at it, poaching the eggs. Three more are made before they try to shape the rice balls, and this time around, a better strategy is put together.

"I think we need to press the inside of both halves to hold the yolk, then add the rice around that when we're done," Atsumu suggests, trying to piece together what he half-listened to when Osamu was, in fact, attempting to help him.

Shouyou-kun nods in agreement, peering at his eggs with increasing intensity.

"Do you," Atsumu ventures, not sure why the eggs are warranting this much scrutiny, "want me to help form it?" And then, because he came here with a _goal_ , he adds, "You know what they say about setter's hands, ha ha. Shouyou-kun?"

"Why egg yolks?" he asks finally, turning to blink curious hazel eyes at Atsumu.

"Wh- what?"

"Why am I egg yolks?" The look on Shouyou-kun's face is a different kind of thoughtful, less about trying to problem-solve the structural logistics of a rice ball, but the same kind of careful consideration regardless. "I asked Osamu-san how he found out I liked tamago kake gohan best but he didn't even know I did." 

"Well," Atsumu says, when he means, ' _Oh shit_ ,' because he may have not planned ahead, but he also certainly didn't mean to be explaining, in great detail, why Shouyou-kun is like the sun. (Because he _can_ , only even he knows there are less embarrassing ways to expose his seven-year-strong torch for Shouyou-kun.) "Your… hair…?"

"Hm, I guess," Shouyou-kun says, not quite convinced but too nice to disagree. 

"I've heard," Atsumu says slowly, treading dangerous territory, "that some people think you're like the sun."

"The sun?"

"You know, like, bright, and brilliant, and something you can't take your eyes off of," Atsumu explains helplessly. "Or so I've heard. And the yolks are, well, they kinda look like the sun, don't they? I think that's what I— that's what they see."

"But Atsumu-san," Shouyou-kun says with all seriousness, "you're _not_ supposed to look at the sun. That's dangerous."

"Oh I agree completely," he says. "I mean. Maybe just. You may not look directly at it, but it lifts you up whenever it's around, you know?"

Shouyou-kun's silent for a while, for too long that Atsumu finally chances a glance. He's frowning deeply, half-made onigiri forgotten in his palm. "Do I do that?" he asks.

"Well." Atsumu sighs, smiling softly. He's vaguely aware if Shouyou-kun looks at him, he'll give himself away. "Just because the sun doesn't intend to, doesn't mean it doesn't, just by being himself."

* * *

It takes them a little bit of trial and a whole lot of error, but eventually they get into a groove, more or less, making their onigiri sets.

Atsumu tries not to be too obvious, but he can't help sneaking glances at Shouyou-kun, whose face is furrowed in pure concentration, tongue sticking out the corner of his mouth as he carefully molds his rice around the poached eggs. He hadn't accepted Atsumu's offer to help with that, in the end, but that's Shouyou-kun through and through— he needs to learn to do something for himself, first, before anything else.

But Shouyou-kun picks up the tuna meant for Atsumu's filling for his next onigiri, so casually Atsumu might have missed it if he hadn't been looking. The same level of concentration on his face is still there, even as he shapes the ball with more speed than usual.

"What are you doing?" Atsumu asks, unable to resist prodding, only to come face to face with the full force of Shouyou-kun's intense attention.

At him.

Shouyou-kun is looking at him. 

"Uhm—?"

"Hang on," he is told, before cold, somewhat rice-sticky fingers rest on his cheeks. 

Atsumu not only hangs on, he clicks frozen in place, forgetting to breathe even as his pulse quickens at an embarrassing pace. Shouyou-kun's gaze is intent, raking over somewhere above his eyes— his forehead? His hair? Did he forget to style it right today?— down to his nose, to his lips. Is this— are they going to kiss? Is this a move Shouyou-kun picked up in Brazil, is this how Brazilians get boyfriends, does Atsumu want to know how he learned it? He shuts his eyes, preemptively, and puckers his lips. 

"Atsumu-san?"

"Y-yeah?" Atsumu pops open an eye.

Shouyou-kun blinks, like he'd been looking but not seeing, and has just realized something. "Are you okay?"

"I'm—" about to die, and implode, and perish all at once, he had been thinking, but he'd at least thought that demise would be out of _happiness_ (take _that_ , Osamu!) not— if he'd _misread_ what was going on— "What are you doing?"

"You changed your hair," Shouyou-kun says, gaze drawn up to Atsumu's hair. His fingers are warming up, against Atsumu's cheeks. His fingers are still there. 

"I changed my hair," he echoes. "Is that— is that better or worse?"

"Mm, I don't know." Shouyou-kun's smile is heart-shattering. "It's Atsumu-san, so it looks good either way!"

And then, just as Atsumu feels his knees weaken and his entire being buckle from the full force of that compliment, Shouyou-kun lets him go. Atsumu grabs on to the kitchen counter for balance and strength and the last dregs of his dignity, and when he finds it in him to look back, Shouyou-kun's grabbed a bit of nori and begun cutting into it.

"Don't look!" he tells Atsumu cheerfully, turning around all secretive, like he hadn't just dealt him a killing blow.

"Okay," Atsumu says, dazed.

* * *

"Ta-dah!" Shouyou-kun announces not long later. He holds out a small, somewhat irregularly shaped, nori-decorated onigiri in his palms like an offering. 

"What—" Atsumu breathes out a laugh, because the onigiri has tiny nori ears, and tiny nori whiskers, and thick nori eyebrows, with carefully cut strands of dashingly styled nori hair. "Is that—"

"It's Atsumu-san as a fox!" Shouyou-kun says, red high on the apples of his cheeks when he grins. "It's not very good but—"

"It's me!" Atsumu grins, taking the proffered onigiri graciously before he takes a closer look. "Am I really this cute, Shouyou-kun?"

"Cute enough to eat, I hope!" 

Atsumu laughs along, hoping Shouyou-kun doesn't notice that his laughter is actually bordering on the wrong side of hysteria.

"Well," he says once he's regained his breath and what little of his senses remain, "it's only fair to trade, right?"

It's trickier than it looks, even after watching Shouyou-kun make them, but he looks over Atsumu's shoulder and shows him how to mold an egg-shaped hole into the rice. Atsumu wraps the finished product with a strip of nori, making a show of studying Shouyou-kun's features as he cuts out a very crude, preschool-level approximation of his hair out of a carrot slice to place atop the onigiri. The eyes are simple curved slits of nori, the smile wide. He cuts out tiny little rounds out of fish cakes and places them on each cheek, the finishing touch. 

It is much, much, _much_ better in theory than in execution, but Shouyou-kun's eyes are wide with awe. "Atsumu-san!" he gasps. "That's me too!" 

"Sort of," Atsumu says, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, his own cheeks feeling like they've sprouted twin rounds of fish cake as he watches Shouyou-kun fawn over his mini-onigiri.

* * *

Atsumu's fox-face onigiri tastes even better than it looks. He takes a big bite, mirroring the one Shouyou-kun does for his own onigiri, and lets out a noise of delight. Maybe it's the ingredients Osamu got for them, but maybe it's because Shouyou-kun made it for _him_.

"This is amazing, Shouyou-kun!" he declares. "How's—"

Shouyou-kun takes a huge bite of his, but even then his teeth cut a bit into the runny yolk, a streak running down his chin. He wipes that away with the back of his hand, but his eyes are wide and sparkly and there are flecks of rice stuck to his cheeks.

Atsumu chuckles, brushing them away with gentle fingers before he realizes what he's doing. 

But Shouyou-kun doesn't seem to mind. "S'great, Atsumu-san!" he tells him instead, holding out his onigiri. "Wanna try it?"

"Trade ya?" Atsumu offers, and they exchange half-eaten onigiri. He leans down to take a small bite, ignoring the small voice at the back of his head shrieking _indirect kiss, indirect **kiss!**_ (take _that_ , Osamu!), and gets some of the yolk in. It _does_ taste good, a burst of sweet flavor in his mouth.

"Oh you got a little bit of it—" Shouyou-kun starts to say, reaching out and wiping a bit of the yolk caught at the corner of his mouth with his thumb. He pulls back, looking inexorably pleased. "There."

Atsumu can't look anywhere else. He smiles, impossibly, helplessly fond. "You see?" he says, and even his voice sounds far away.

"See what?" Shouyou-kun asks, tilting his head. Atsumu holds his gaze, watching the curiosity slowly turn to understanding.

"Just like sunshine."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for making it here! Kudos and comments are always appreciated! ♥
> 
> [Slumber](https://twitter.com/slumberish) and [Ellieb3an](https://twitter.com/3llieb3an) are on Twitter if you wanna say hi!


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